Lorin MacDonald

A blue gradient background with navy text has “The D-30 Disability Impact List” at the top centered above “2023 Honoree” which is in between two laurels. The words “Lorin MacDonald, Canada” are to the left of a picture of Lorin, which fills the right. Lorin is a White woman with short gray hair wearing a floral blouse and earrings, smiling. At the bottom, “Diversability, #D30DisList.” fills the left corner.

Lorin MacDonald (She/her/hers)

Human Rights Lawyer & Disability Advocate

Canada

Lorin MacDonald is one of the few Canadian lawyers born with profound hearing loss. Her human rights legal career focuses on supporting people with disabilities, creating disability awareness, and advancing inclusion for Canadians with disabilities. 

Her advocacy strives to normalize disability by positioning it as less an anomaly and more of a natural part of life. She founded HearVue which advocates for community inclusion. HearVue’s first event was with former First Lady Michelle Obama. Lorin says about this,”I proved to myself that bold dreams can be realized, and great change can happen in a very short time.”

In 2022, she received the highest honor from the legal profession and was inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame to recognize her impact. Over the past year, Lorin’s work has been impressive, inspirational, and influential. She is a disability community role model leading by example. Her work with the Canadian Bar Association results in disability initiatives educating lawyers and celebrating those with disabilities. Last fall, she participated in the launch of the Canadian Association of Lawyers with Disabilities. As COVID lingered, she advocated for clear masks in Canadian hospitals to support lipreading. 

She creates disability awareness through her writing in a law magazine, and her LinkedIn posts often go viral, such as one on ableism following the 2022 Academy Awards.